A Rose Amongst The Thorns
by Mercedes Aria
Summary: The return of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn create an unexpected problem for Robin. While Bruce must deal with an increasingly rebellious ward. RR pretty please!
1. Prolouge

A Rose Amongst The Thorns  
  
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This story was sparked years ago by the New Adventures of Batman and Robin comic books based on the animated series. Posion Ivy has long been my favorite villian and Robin (Dick Grayson) has always been my favorite hero. One story of the comic books featured Posion Ivy luring Robin to her side to fight with her and Harley against Batman. I loved the story (I'll dig up the book for the title and number if any one would like to know) and it was the inspiration that birthed the following, yet unrelated, tale. Yes, it is a bit off-beat with a bizarre pairing but stranger things have happened in fan fiction. ^_^ _______________________________________________________________________  
  
Please R&R. I would really appreciate it. Let me know if you have any suggestions for future plots. I'd love any suggestions, but please be aware that I do not write nor imply slash. Thanx. _______________________________________________________________________  
  
Disclaimer: Don't have to claim to anything but the story idea and its telling. ;p _______________________________________________________________________  
  
Prologue:  
  
A black bullet streaked through the streets of Gotham City at midnight. Robin hunkered down in the passanger seat with a scowl marring his handsome face. Beside him, Batman stared at the road ahead, his gaze steeled onto the fast approaching building and his jaw set at a determined angle.  
  
The Batmobile screeched to a halt outside the Gotham Botanical Gardens, skidding sideways into the parking lot.  
  
"Stay here," Batman growled at the teenager who had jumped out to follow him.  
  
A derisive snort escaped Robin. He said nothing and, ignoring the older man's order, followed the black cape inside the building.  
  
The main complex of the Botanical Gardens was eerily silent. The dim auxilarly lights created leering shadows along the walls and floors of the hallways. The stillness disturbed the Dark Knight. Instintively, he knew the thief was still in the building.  
  
"Hey, Batman," Robin called, his voice faint as it drifted in from another room. "C'mere. There's something you ought to see."  
  
He swore under his breath, annoyed that Dick seemed incapable of following the simplest of directions. The boy had always been headstrong and willful, but lately he had been nearly impossible to reign in.  
  
He found Robin standing in the atrium in front of a gargantuan display of exotic flowers. Batman's sharp eyes took in every detail of the room, careful not to miss anything that might lend itself as a clue.  
  
Finally, he turned on the youth. Robin met his hard gaze with an expectant one; but the coldness in his mentor's eyes soured his desire to be cooperative.  
  
"What is?" Batman ground out.  
  
Robin tossed back a chilling look of his own, then turned and pointed to a corner of the horticultural display.  
  
"There. The Ocean's Depths is gone."  
  
Batman saw that he was right. The Ocean's Depths was an incredibly rare violet, the only naturally ocurring green flower known to man. It had been brought to Gotham from the heart of the Amazon a week ago.  
  
Batman had no doubt as to who was behind the theft.  
  
Suddenly, there was noise from the corridor behind the room. Instantly, Batman zeroed in on the disturbance and took off. Robin was about to follow him when a flash of red caught his eye. He flew out of the room after whatever it was that he had seen, without paying heed to the whereabouts of his partner, from whom he got the distinct impression that he did not want anyone tagging along behind him.  
  
Once he was in the hall, Robin stopped, crouched low to the ground, and listened. He could hear the "tap-tap-tap" of footsteps skittering down passageway. In his mind, he went over the layout of the Gardens and quickly deduced which exit the culprit was headed for. Like a panther, he lept up and sprint off down a parallel hall to beat them to their escape route.  
  
The door loomed ahead of him and he quickened his speed. Somewhere behind him came a thunderous crash- a sound of a heavy body being slammed against a wall followed by the shattering of glass. Robin pressed on towards his goal; Batman, no doubt, had run into a bit of a roadblock and was busy cleaning it up.  
  
Without warning, Robin was forced to check up. He saw it in front of him, but he was moving to quickly to stop in time. He skidded as he attempted to brake his gait and plowed into the figure in front of him.  
  
Momentarily stunned, the Boy Wonder sat up and shook his head before standing wobbly to his feet. All around him was a mess of soil and dark green leaves. Slowly, his gaze lifted from the ground up into a pair of vivid green eyes that stared at him in shock. His mind was too clouded from the collision to be able to properly put facts together.  
  
She was breathing heavy, both from running and from slamming into the young crimefighter. In one arm, she tightly clung to the clay pot that contained the stolen Ocean's Depth. Her free hand rested on the lip of the container, as though she was unsure of what else to do with it. Locks of disheveled hair the color of blazing fire fell into her face.  
  
They stared at each other for what seemed an eternity but was really only seconds.  
  
*Holy Aphrodite* was the first thought that registered any meaning in Robin's mind.  
  
The exit door flew open with a svelte figure was silohuetted in the moonlight.  
  
"Whaddya doin', Red?!" demanded a shrill voice. "Kiss 'im already and let's get outta here!"  
  
*Kiss him?* Robin turned his attention to the door. The figured moved forward and Robin could better see the voice's owner.  
  
If that was Harely Quinn in the doorway then....  
  
Cold realization flooded Robin's sense and galvanized him into action, but it was too late.  
  
His gaze turned back to her and she could see the recognition in his eyes. Her lips pressed themselved tightly together by their own volition. She stepped towards him until they were inches apart. He didn't so much as blink. With a fluid, practised move, she lifted the pot up and brought it swiftly down on his head. 


	2. Chapter 1

______________________________________________________________________ Note: If you want, consider this tale to be AU. There will be descrepancies with other Batman series and such. Please understand that this is based upon the Animated Series and its comic books. It's just a fun lil episode. Hope you all like it anyway. Oh, and if anyone knows the name of the University that Dick attended in the animated series, please let me know. I can't remember off-hand. Mahalo.  
  
*For those of you interested in the comic book that inspired this tale it is: Batman & Robin Adventures #8- Harley and Ivy and...Robin? ______________________________________________________________________  
  
Chapter 1:  
  
An eight 'o clock English class had seemed like a good idea at the time Dick Grayson signed up for the class. But as he dragged himself to the back row of the classroom, he deeply regretted taking such an early class.  
  
He dropped his bookbag on the floor before sliding into the seat. Leaning against the desk he buried his head in his arms hoping to get in a catnap before the lecture began. He felt a slight breeze as someone walked pass him. Dick turned his head to the side and opened one eye to a redhead take the desk next him. Smiling to himself, he sat half-way up, caught a lock of hair in his hand, and gave it a playful tug- it had been awhile seen he had seen Babs.  
  
The owner of the lock of hair turned around in surprise. Her cerulean blue eyes wide and seemed to consume her fair face. Pale pink lips were parted in a silent "oh".  
  
Dick quickly let go of her hair and his cheeks turned bright crimson when he realized that the hair didn't belong to Barbra Gordon.  
  
"I-I-I'm sorry," he sputtered, deeply embarrassed. "I thought you were someone else."  
  
The girl smiled engagingly. "That's all right," she told him, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She held out her hand to him. "My name's Pamela Riley. And who might you be?"  
  
Dick relaxed and allowed himself to catch her contagious grin. "Richard Grayson. Everyone calls me Dick."  
  
"And everyone calls me Pam." Dick noticed for the first time her British accent.  
  
"Well, Pam," he winked, past embarrassment forgotten. The old Grayson charm was returning. "Are you new to the campus?"  
  
"New to the city," she replied, ducking her head and giving him a shy glance.  
  
That was more than he could have hoped for. "Gotham's a big city. Would you like me to show you around sometime?" _______________________________________________________________________  
  
The Batmobile screeched to a halt inside the Batcave. Alfred Pennyworth waited for the driver to emerge with a slightly perturbed expression on his face. The recent problems that Bruce Wayne was having with his ward was disturbing to the butler. For the present, however, he kept his concerns to himself.  
  
Bruce slammed the door to the Batmobile with unusual force. He removed his cowl, revealing a weary, haggard face and bloodshot eyes.  
  
Alfred raised an eyebrow. "Anything wrong, sir?"  
  
"Harley and Ivy are back," he ground out shortly.  
  
"I see. Out on good behavior I presume."  
  
"Unfortunately."  
  
Bruce made his way over to the main computer terminal, motioning for Alfred to follow him.  
  
"Harley was released over two months ago from Arkham," Bruce explained. "But Ivy's been laying low since her release nearly eight months ago. According to her psychiatrist, she left the country. Headed to Ireland."  
  
"She was allowed to leave the country?" Alfred did not bother to mask his surprise.  
  
"Yes..." Bruce's voice trailed off as he entered data into the computer. "There is full documentation of her departure, but no record of a return. She's completely covered her tracks. Too well."  
  
It was apparent that Bruce was through speaking. Alfred deduced Bruce might need help for someone better skilled finding things that were lost in cyberspace, though he was not keen on bringing up the name of such a person.  
  
"Shall I summon Master Grayson?"  
  
Bruce did not immediately reply. He mulled over the suggestion for a long while before answering.  
  
"No. He's in class now."  
  
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Or at least he was suppose to be. Skipping class had become his new favorite hobby and Dick had decided to skip his next one in favor of staying with the new redhead in town. He took her to his favorite deli in hopes of getting to know her.  
  
Pam was rather quiet, a bit on the shy side. That bothered Dick some; he was used to the talkative, over-eager girls that populated the campus at Gotham University. Dick found her shyness to be a breath of fresh air- a nice change from the girls he usually dated.  
  
Over the course of the hour that they spent together before her next class began, Dick was able to learn a few things about Pamela. Though born in Gotham, she grown up in Ireland. Her parents sent her to high school in Gotham, but she had recently spent eight months back home in County Kerry. She had no siblings, and only one close friend.  
  
"Oh, shoot," Pam cried suddenly, glancing at her watch. "I'm going to be late for class."  
  
Dick wrinkled his nose, disappointed that the date had come to such an abrupt halt.  
  
He didn't express the sentiment but instead flashed a charming grin.  
  
"No prob," he said. "I'll have us a back in no time."  
  
Pamela returned his smile. There was a certain thrill to riding around Gotham on the back of a motorcycle with a hot guy.  
  
They were just about to Dick's ride when a large purple car swerved up onto the sidewalk. Instinctively, Grayson grabbed Pamela and pulled her into a nearby alley. The girl clung to him, more startled by his reaction than the car. Cautiously, Dick peered around the corner to better see what was going on. He knew who that car belonged to- the Joker.  
  
The Joker and his henchmen were headed to a jewelry store near the deli he and Pam were just at. Dick frowned. The heist wasn't being carried out in typical Joker fashion. Could it be a job just to lure Batman to the scene? It was possible. Unsure of whether he should stop the crime in progress or let Batman do it, Dick tightened his grip on Pamela. If he stepped in, he would surely be busted for cutting classes and he didn't really want to tangle with Bruce...again. Of course, Bruce was more than capable of handling this on his own...if things got really bad he could always summon him.  
  
*He won't though*, Dick thought darkly. *He never does anymore.*  
  
Pamela was more than a little curious as to what was going on. She twisted a bit in Dick's arms trying to get a better view of the scene on the sidewalk. She just caught a glimpse of a pale-face man in a flambouyant purple suit. She just about choked.  
  
*Oh, no. No, no, no.* she thought burying her face in Dick's shirt. *This can't be happening!*  
  
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Sorry this is short! I wanted to get something up for you, but was short on time. Many thanks to those who have reviewed.  
  
Cheap Plug: So you think you know who this Pamela is? If you think that I'd be that obvious you apparently have never read any of my other stuff. So why don't ya? Just kidding...sort of. Hehe. If you have stories that you'd like me to read, email me! ^_- 


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